I’m looking at you, Wisconsin governor Scott Walker. But first, some background. Many, many moons ago, back when I toddled around the Northeast underground music scene, there was a somewhat tongue-in-cheek t-shirt that made the rounds. It had a homeless woman holding an AK-47, with the slogan “If homeless people had guns, then they wouldn’t be homeless.”

Let’s reimagine the protests, but this time with armed teachers and other supporters. Kinda interesting, isn’t it? While the right refers to teachers as “union thugs“, it was the Tea Party that had displays like this:

One of the underdiscussed topics in the gun debate is the effect that people who carry guns in public have on the ability of people to express themselves freely. I know that I have been very reluctant to engage in political debate over the years with people I’ve known who indulge themselves in open carry or who are known to have guns at the ready.

You know the right would squeal like stuck pigs if teachers ever behaved the way the Tea Partiers did. Sadly, teachers’ concerns would probably be taken more seriously if they did bring guns.

My point is not to advocate for violence (or the threat of violence)–down that road lies madness and death. But it amazes me that the rightwing, steeped in paranoia, doesn’t realize (or simply believe) that there are those on the left who, at some point, will start pushing back aggressively.